The next day, however, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee signed DUI legislation (SB 5912) into law down in Tacoma at the Washington State Patrol District 1 headquarters.

Screen grab from SeattleP-I.com’s coverage of Governor Jay Inslee signing new DUI legislation into law. Click through to read the whole article, and see more photos from the event by Associated Press photographer Ted S. Warren.

Dan and Marilyn Schulte both attended on their family’s behalf, and were joined at the signing by over a dozen legislators and law enforcement leaders, as well as family members of a woman killed by a drunk driver in 2010.

Under the new law, a driver suspected of a second impaired driving offense faces mandatory arrest and will have an interlock device installed on their vehicle within five days of being charged.

The state also will begin a pilot program in as many as three counties and two cities not in those counties to conduct daily alcohol monitoring of anyone convicted twice under the DUI law. Additional money will be put toward ensuring that local jurisdictions prosecute and punish more offenders more quickly.

The final version of the bill was passed unanimously by both the House and Senate.

Most of the law will go into effect on September 28 of this year; however, the monitoring program and a few other components will not go into effect until January 1, 2014.

And one more thing: Tom Fucoloro over at Seattle Bike Blog showed us this nifty online tool that lets you play around at redesigning a road for yourself: Streetmix. Choose a road width of 40 feet for NE 75th St, and give it a shot!]

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At a press conference this morning at 33rd Avenue NE and NE 75th Street, Mayor Mike McGinn and the City Traffic Engineer Dongho Chang announced four different design proposals for a safer NE 75th St for all users.

ALL four proposed designs include marking the lanes off distinctly (“defining channelization”). Speaking prior to the press conference this morning, Chang said that this feature of a future NE 75th St was very strongly desired by residents, according to the community feedback the Seattle Department of Transportation had collected prior to the design phase.

Existing Conditions

The above graphic shows existing conditions along NE 75th ST, between 15th Ave NE and 35th Ave NE: Two undefined lanes in each direction, with off-peak parking in the outside lanes.

And now, the four different proposals, combining various new roadway configurations to reduce speeds and improve safety, and in order of increasing changes and safety features.

Proposal 1

Proposal 1 for NE 75th Street (between 15th Ave NE and 35th Ave NE)

Proposal 1 is exactly what we have now, but with the painted white lines clearly indicating travel/parking lanes (“defining channelization”). Parking along both sides of NE 75th St would not be affected.

Some of the safety limitations SDOT sees in this design are that roadway crossing distances for pedestrians are not reduced, the efficiency of the roadway is not improved, cyclists are still mixed in with motor vehicle traffic, and little to no change to vehicle speed is expected.

Proposal 2

Proposal 2 for NE 75th Street (between 15th Ave NE and 35th Ave NE)

Proposal 2 sees one lane only in each direction of NE 75th St, but in wider travel lanes. Parking on both sides of the street would have no restrictions, and would be well marked with white lines (again, “defining channelization”).

Pluses for safety with Proposal 2 includes a reduced crossing distance for pedestrians and a likely reduction in vehicle speed.

Limitations with this proposal include no separation between cyclists and motor vehicles, again, and no designated left turn lanes (decreasing the efficiency of the roadway).

Proposal 3

Proposal 3 for NE 75th Street (between 15th Ave NE and 35th Ave NE)

Proposal 3 continues the defining channelization theme, and includes separated lanes for cyclists. As in Proposal one, there is one travel lane in each direction (again, slightly wider than lanes are currently), with permanent parking on one side of NE 75th St only*.

Left turns are once again going to decrease the efficiency of the street.

Proposal 4

Proposal 4 for NE 75th Street (between 15th Ave NE and 35th Ave NE)

Proposal 4 combines all of the safety improvements we’ve seen so far — defining channelization, one lane travel each way (reducing pedestrian crossing distance), separate lanes for cyclists, a likely reduction in vehicle speed — and adds a designated left turn lane down the center. Roadway efficiency is said to be improved as left turning vehicles are removed from moving traffic.

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*The SDOT PDF lists the south side of NE 75th St as the side of this proposed all day parking; however, it is our feeling that with Eckstein Middle School’s location also on the south side of NE 75th St, this may be in error. We will attempt to clarify this point prior to the meeting on July 27 (or bring it up there).

Wednesday, May 8 was Bike-to-School Day, and Bryant Elementary School students and family turned out in force.

Participating cyclists started their ride to school at the Wedgwood Top Pot Doughnuts, who provided morning treats. About 40 minutes later, and under Seattle Police escort, the group headed south on 35th Avenue NE toward Bryant Elementary (on NE 60th Street).

Once at school, everyone gathered on the playground for a rally and press conference. Speakers included:

Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Dr. José Banda

Seattle City Councilmember Sally Bagshaw

Seattle School Board President Kay Smith-Blum

Cascade Bicycle Club Education Director Julie Salathé

Bryant Elementary School Principal Kim Fox

And Ravenna Blog was there! Taking lots of pictures.

View from the Top Pot driveway off NE 70th Street as families gathered.

Lesile Loper (AKA The Bike Fairy) in blue, next to Seattle Schools Superintendent Dr. José Banda in bright green. On the left in red is Michele Solis with her son, Linus (who I think had just taken a bite of a powdered sugar doughnut).

Overflow bike parking at the Wedgwood Top Pot along 35th Avenue NE.

This pink beauty was the first bike here this morning, as you can see in the tweet below:

Clint Loper (Walk.Bike.Schools co-founder, Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board member, father of Bryant and Eckstein Middle School students, and husband to The Bike Fairy) was handing out these smiley bike pins. (The eyes are the wheels, get it?)

A gaggle of bikers walks their rides through the crosswalk at NE 70th St and 35th Ave NE.

KOMO TV morning photographer Fred Veinfurt let a few kids check out his camera gear while he was on scene with reporter Kelly Koopmans. Here’s Fred and his “students” from another angle:

A number of Cascade Bicycle Club members were along for the ride, wearing red, white and black wool cycling shirts. The rider on the yellow bike here happens to be Kathy McCabe, Deputy Director of the Cascade Bicycle Club.

Cyclists of all ages and sizes, heading to school.

No worries: Her dad had the other wheel. (Two unicyclers in the family!)

Cyclists fill the streets while the media lines the sidewalks.

The Seattle Bike Blog people-powered news van on its way to the rally.

Back of the pack. Clint, armed with his cowbell, is on the far left.

And Michele Solis and her moving sculpture-style ride brought up the rear.

The Cascade Bicycle Club has a video of the start of the ride, as well as a sped-up version of the route to school:

One the primary school peloton arrived at Bryant Elementary, everyone cruised around to the playground behind the school for the Bike to School Day rally.

Ready to ring, or tweet, at a moment’s notice.

Bryant Elementary School Principal Kim Fox addresses her students.

Cascade Bicycle Club recorded Superintendent Banda’s speech, and you can view it below:

This is Brian Dougherty, the Safe Routes to School Coordinator with the Seattle Department of Transportation, dressed for the occasion.

Here, a KIRO TV photojournalist gets an exclusive with The Bike Fairy.

I took a picture of this balance bike, thinking it was an ancient family heirloom. Talking to the family that owns it revealed that the bike was only about two years old — it gets USED.

Councilmember Sally Bagshaw spoke to the crowd as well.

And here’s Seattle School Board President Kay Smith-Blum speaking to the kids from the podium, the younger ladies literally hanging on her every word.

Shots from the PACKED bike racks behind Bryant.

Who doesn’t love a miniature vanity license plate?

Tim King of Bike Free Days tallied the kid’s bikes at the end of the ride:

We’ve obtained a copy of the charging documents filed on Friday, March 1 against Robin McDougall-Treacy, the area man arrested after stealing a woman’s purse and thought to have robbed five other individuals, at knifepoint.

McDougall-Treacy will be charged with robbery in the second degree for the Tuesday, February 26 attempted robbery of a woman in Roosevelt. His arraignment hearing is scheduled for Thursday, March 14, and we will there to cover it. (UPDATE BELOW.)

Seattle Police Department investigators are also working on linking McDougall-Treacy to five other “striking similar armed street robberies” that occurred in our area between February 2 and the date of his arrest.

Here’s KIRO 7 News’ report from their 5 PM newscast that aired on Tuesday, February 26 about the arrest earlier that day:

Along with the charging documents, we also have the case investigation report, which includes the details of the burglary and arrest of McDougall-Treacy on Tuesday, February, 26.

February 26 Burglary and Arrest

At about 1:30 PM, several calls came in to 911 from neighbors in the 7100 block of Roosevelt Way NE. They reported variously that a woman had just been robbed on the street and the suspect could be seen, knife in hand, running through yards. He was described as a white male, in his 20s, with a heavy build, wearing a black hoody and a black scarf around his face.

Officers apprehended the suspect about eight minutes later in the backyard of a house on the 1000 block of NE 71st St. He was found hiding in an alcove, and had a red and black backpack with him.

A witness who had been chasing the suspect stated to officers that in the backyard of a nearby house, “he (the witness) slipped and fell, losing sight of the suspect,” who had been wearing a black hooded sweatshirt. Moments later, the suspect, still running, was seen wearing a red sweatshirt.

Several witnesses and the victim herself participated, separately, in a “show-up” at the scene (to identify the suspect as the person who was seen stealing the purse and fleeing). The witnesses variously stated that the suspect was the man seen robbing the woman earlier and that his clothing (pants and shoes) matched those of the suspect.

When interviewed by an officer about the crime, the woman who was robbed explained that she had been walking down the sidewalk at approximately NE 71st St and Roosevelt Way NE when an unknown white male wearing a black hoody and jeans confronted her from behind. She felt a tug on her purse, turned around, and saw the suspect holding a knife sheath in one hand while he used the knife to cut the shoulder strap. The victim said that she and the suspect ended up on the pavement in the struggle for her purse, causing some pain to her elbow. As the suspect fled, the victim started screaming and gave chase, as did several other people (males) in the area.

The victim described her purse and the contents, which included her phone. Her phone number was dialed by a detective at the scene, which then caused a phone to ring from inside McDougall-Treacy’s backpack. However, her other stolen items and McDougall-Treacy’s black sweatshirt and knife were not found by officers in the area.

The day after his arrest (Wednesday, February 27), McDougall-Treacy’s backpack was searched and the victim’s missing items were located within, as were “a black jacket with hood, a black neck fleece gator, a black knit cap, a pair of black and grey gloves” and a three-to-four-inch silver-bladed folding knife. All of these items were placed into evidence.

The Storage Unit

When McDougall-Treacy was asked by a detective for the address of where he was living, “[McDougall-Treacy] said he could not stay at his parents’ house,” but added upon further questioning that he kept his belongings in a storage unit in the Roosevelt neighborhood. Among the items suspect had on him at the time of the arrest was a keychain that had the address and name of the storage facility on it.

When a detective called the storage facility, the assistant manager said that he was familiar with McDougall-Treacy who uses a storage unit rented out under his mother’s name. The assistant manager also said that their records indicated that the suspect had been at the facility on a day when one of the other robberies had taken place about two blocks away from the business (on Wednesday, February 20). The first robbery that day occurred at approximately 2:10 PM, and McDougall-Treacy was recorded visiting the storage facility at 2:13 PM. (The second robbery on February 20 occurred at approximately 2:55 PM near NE 65th Street and 36th Avenue NE.)

A search warrant was obtained for the storage unit which was searched the day after the suspect’s arrest. Detectives recovered “two folding knives, a black hooded sweatshirt, a pair of white sneakers and a brown purse (strap intact).” One of these knives resembles the weapon described by the victim of one of the other robberies.

Custody, Charging, and Next Steps

On Friday, March 1, Robin McDougall-Treacy was charged with Robbery in the Second Degree (for the robbery which occurred the day he was arrested) by the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s office. Bail was set at $250,000.

At his arraignment today, Thursday, March 14, McDougall-Treacy entered a plea of not guilty to this second degree robbery charge.

McDougall-Treacy (far left) at his arraignment hearing presided over by Assistant Chief Criminal Judge Jim Rogers at the King County Courthouse on Thursday, March 14.

Additionally, the suspect was charged with robbery in the first degree for the robber by knifepoint that occurred on Wednesday, February 20, around 2:55 PM. The suspect entered a plea of not guilty for this charge as well.

At 1:29 PM this afternoon, KIRO 7 alerted us to some Seattle Police Department information indicating a fifth local robbery. And now it appears that there has been an arrest, prior to during a sixth attempt.

And if you have an iOS device (and the Seattle Channel live feed below is causing you trouble), KIRO 7 has another live feed that should work for you.

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One hundred and forty weddings are scheduled for City Hall this Sunday, December 9 — the first of their kind in Washington State, thanks to the passage of R-74 which legalized gay marriage.

Four chapels have been made available inside City Hall (for those who RSVP’d in time) for weddings after the three day marriage license wait period. And outside city hall, there’s a party. For everyone. Via married.seattle.gov:

Come join the celebration at City Hall Plaza from 10 AM to 5 PM, on Fourth Avenue downtown between James and Cherry streets.

Congratulate and admire the newlyweds coming down the steps from City Hall and enjoy food trucks, coffee and festivities. Don’t miss this historic day in Seattle!

For those of us in the rest of the city unable to make it down to City Hall to take part in the celebrating, the Seattle Channel has a solution: “You can follow the day’s progress by watching livestreams of City Hall lobby and of the procession of new married couples exiting City Hall towards the plaza,” says the city’s marriage website.

Says the Seattle Channel: “We’ll have two views: a wide shot of the lobby with ceremonies in progress and close-up coverage with commentary from newlyweds via our ‘couple cam.'”

Public safety is a high priority for the people of Seattle. The Seattle Police Department is addressing the recent wave of violence with emphasis patrols and other actions specific to each precinct. But it will take more than law enforcement alone to build communities that are safe. It’s time to look at the roots of violence and address longstanding neighborhood concerns. That’s why the Mayor’s Office and the Seattle Police Department are working together on the Safe Communities Outreach Mission. Part of the SPD 20/20 Plan, Safe Communities seeks to ensure the City is meeting our goal of reducing crime and creating the safest possible neighborhoods. We will do that by bringing residents and officers together in living rooms, cafes, barber shops and community centers across Seattle to develop a list of priorities to address community concerns. Those priorities will then guide the actions the City, SPD, and the neighborhoods will take together to protect public safety. We are committed to building safe communities. We’re looking forward to hearing your ideas and developing an action plan with you.